Whiplash

"Splash~ splash—"

"Hm?" The two people sitting on the roof turned to look behind them. About ten meters away, a shadow lurked beneath the once azure river surface!

Kurumi had quietly taken out the Black Gold Gloves, while Busujima Saeko stood atop the vehicle with the Steel Katana in hand. The two kept their eyes fixed on that shadow. What kind of creature was that? A fish? How could such a huge fish exist in a river?!

The shadow fully spread out. Kurumi estimated it was at least six or seven meters long. Whatever it was, its size alone made it difficult to deal with! Especially in the middle of a river!

"Puff~"

The water surface burst open, revealing the shadow's true form. Kurumi could clearly feel Busujima Saeko beside her relax as she let out a soft breath. "Whew~ I thought it was some kind of monster. It's just a manta ray."

"A manta ray?" Though Kurumi had some doubts, she did not relax. The creature's size put a great deal of pressure on her.

"Yes, a devil ray. They usually live along the coast... How did one end up in this river?" Seeing Kurumi still looking as though she faced a formidable enemy, Saeko could not help but smile.

"Don't worry. It isn't aggressive. They're usually lively creatures. It probably didn't see any boats after entering the inland river, and now that it found our car, it probably just wants to play a prank."

"This river connects to the sea? How did it survive in such shallow water?" Kurumi still did not let down her guard. Instead, she finished putting on the Black Gold Gloves. "Also, I don't remember any fish having... blood-red eyes!"

"Kurumi, you don't—"

"Bang!—"

Before Busujima Saeko could finish, the devil ray rammed viciously into the side of the modified Hummer! Kurumi grabbed Busujima Saeko, who had nearly been thrown off. "This is the little prank you were talking about?!"

Luckily, the water was shallow. Otherwise, the devil ray's charge would have been enough to overturn the vehicle! Even if it was practically a small armored car!

The thick steel plating on the side of the vehicle had already been dented in, as if it had been hit by a large-caliber sniper rifle!

The people inside the cabin were shaken senseless. Even Komuro Takashi, who had been sound asleep, was sent crashing to the other side!

"What happened? What's going on?" Miyamoto Rei asked in terror. She clutched the seat tightly with one hand while looking toward the sunroof. The sky was still azure, but a few droplets of water splashed into the cabin, their icy chill making her shudder!

Kurumi's mind raced. She could not confront the devil ray head-on. Otherwise, a single exchange would probably leave her bones shattered! It was nearly six meters wide... and might weigh as much as four thousand kilograms! The force behind one of its strikes...

We have to get ashore! "Teacher Shizuka, floor it! Don't worry about anything else, just charge onto the bank!"

"Mm!"

"Vroom!~"

The modified Hummer's engine roared at high speed, but the resistance in the water was too great, and the riverbed was all mud and sand. The tires actually began slipping! The devil ray continued circling the vehicle unhurriedly, seemingly curious about the thing.

But Kurumi saw nothing but savagery in its blood-red eyes! Its originally beautiful black dorsal fin was wrapped in crimson threads, giving it an utterly evil aura.

"Bang!"

The devil ray turned again, lashing the other side of the vehicle with its tail. Kurumi could even hear steel groaning in agony! Its tail was barbed, and that strike punctured several small holes through the thick steel plating!

"The car's leaking! What the hell is outside?!" Komuro Takashi had yet to fully recover his senses before the immense force sent him flying to the other side again. Shiri Alice was very quiet at this moment, covering her mouth as Hirono Toda held her in his arms, keeping her from being hurt.

Hirono Toda, however, was having a terrible time. His plump body slammed back and forth around the cabin, and even his glasses had flown off somewhere. The elbows of his black school uniform were scraped open. If this happened one or two more times, even his joints might not hold up!

Miyamoto Rei and Takagi Saya clung tightly to their seats. They were not being tossed around, but their heads had already knocked together more than once...

Shizuka Marikawa, seated in the driver's seat, could be said to be the safest. With a strong awareness of traffic safety, she had kept her seatbelt fastened the entire time. Even after two impacts, she was largely unharmed. Only that pair of enormous rabbits bounced back and forth—wouldn't such a tight belt be uncomfortable?

Kurumi and Busujima Saeko on the roof were not nearly as safe. They had to watch the devil ray's movements while also warning Shizuka Marikawa to dodge. Their hands tightly gripped whatever sturdy parts they could find on the vehicle. The frame around the sunroof had been faintly deformed by Kurumi's Black Gold Gloves!

Kurumi anxiously glanced toward the shore. It was still far away. If this continued, everyone in the car would end up in the fish's belly... As for whether it ate people? Just look at the humans mutated into Dead Bodies!

"Hirono, throw me the sniper rifle!"

"O-okay...!" Hirono Toda answered with difficulty. Without his glasses, the severely nearsighted boy could see only a blur. Enduring the pain in his body, he fumbled around for the firearm that had been knocked who knew where.

Just then, the mutated devil ray suddenly leaped out of the river! Its enormous body seemed capable of blotting out the sun itself. Who knew how it had gained such tremendous momentum in such shallow water!

"Whoosh! Hiss—"

The figure that leaped high into the air rose far above Kurumi, who was half-crouched on the roof. Then it made an utterly unreasonable midair turn! Its spiked tail slashed viciously toward Kurumi's face!

Her mismatched pupils contracted to pinpoints. Busujima Saeko's panicked scream rang in her ears, along with the tearing shriek of the tail whip cutting through the air! For the first time in this world, she had fallen into such danger!

Her expression twisted slightly as she threw herself left with all her strength. Her right hand had already drawn back, every ounce of force in her body compressed to the limit. The golden threads on the Black Gold Gloves seemed to come alive, flowing back and forth like liquid.

"Bang! Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—"

The tail whip arrived as expected, smashing fiercely into Kurumi's raised right hand. Thankfully, she wore the Black Gold Gloves. Two objects that were not even metal actually threw sparks from the impact!

"Boom!~"

"Whew... whew... whew... cough, cough..." The mutated devil ray fell back into the river, while Kurumi dropped onto the roof. Her chest felt tight, and only after coughing several times did she feel slightly better.

Busujima Saeko looked anxiously at Kurumi beside her, but she still had to watch the mutated devil ray and could not spare the attention. "Kurumi, go into the cabin first. I can handle the roof alone."

"Ha, I don't believe you could withstand that strike just now..."

Kurumi held out her constantly trembling right hand. Several two- or three-centimeter scratches had appeared across the palm section of the "Sub-grade Black Cotton." If I hadn't had the Black Gold Gloves, this hand would probably be ruined...

"Tokisaki Senpai! Catch the gun!" Hirono Toda, who had just found the sniper rifle, had his eye socket smashed swollen by another whip strike from the mutated devil ray.

Even after Kurumi had blocked it, the vibrations inside the vehicle were still intense. The power behind that blow was easy to imagine.

The rifle was thrown directly out through the sunroof. Kurumi had just reached out to catch it when another impact struck the vehicle!

Kurumi was sent flying straight off, while the rifle remained in the air, about to fall. Her gaze sharpened. With a slight exertion from her small foot clad in a Martin boot, she actually hooked the sniper rifle, sending it hurtling in Kurumi's direction!

"Splash!~" Ripples spread across the water in widening circles...